Frenchman takes on test and development duties

French racing driver Jean-Karl Vernay will join our team as an official Customer Racing driver on our Veloster N ETCR program, sharing test and improvement duties program with Augusto Farfus.

The development work on our first-ever electric race car continues to gather momentum. The Veloster N ETCR was the first car to be fitted with the final specification e-kit in the summer of 2020, and since then we have embarked on an extensive testing program. The addition of Jean-Karl to our test team alongside Augusto will ensure that the car and its e-kit will fulfil their high-performance potential.

Our Team Principal Andrea said: “Jean-Karl is the perfect fit. He has a lot of experience, and success, in TCR racing and throughout the motorsport world. From the first tests in the next weeks, his feedback will help our engineers and those from the ETCR suppliers to continue their work as everything builds towards the first competitive events.”

Expert hands at the wheel
Jean-Karl may be a new face to our team, but he is no stranger to TCR-style racing. Following a glittering career in junior single-seaters, he made the switch to Touring Cars in 2016. He found immediate success; after taking three wins, the Frenchman was crowned champion in his first season in the TCR International Series. In 2017, Jean-Karl moved to the FIA WTCR grid, where he has been a regular contender for race victories.

Jean-Karl is set to take his first outing at the wheel of the Veloster N ETCR in the coming weeks, with full details of his 2021 program with our team to be announced at a later date.

Jean-Karl said: “When I was presented with the opportunity, it was one I couldn’t miss. I know Augusto and the engineers have already put a lot of work into the chassis and e-kit components. I’m looking forward to taking advantage of that, but also playing a role myself in the development of the car in the weeks and months to come, so the Veloster N ETCR can be just as successful as the team’s previous TCR designs.”